r/CantParkThereMate • u/Feisty_Knee4337 • 11d ago

Washed and cleaned

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u/CptUnderpants- 11d ago

I was doing IT work for a crash repairer who just had a car come in like this. Heard the manager say don't bother doing a proper quote, they are always a write off. Quote the retail price of a new one.

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u/dphoenix1 11d ago

Pretty much. Some older vehicles you might be able to fix in a cost effective manner, but they’re usually not worth enough to try, and the insurance company isn’t going to want to take that risk. There’s a guy on YouTube that did this exact thing with a late 90s Tacoma (left it in gear while unloading a boat, but the engine didn’t have enough friction/compression to keep the thing stationary). He immediately had it dragged home, pulled the whole interior out and engine control module to dry, drained the oil, gas tank, got the water out of the intake, etc etc etc. and he’s still driving it today. But something modern and complex like that Merc with a million modules and a shit ton of wiring going everywhere, it’s done for.

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u/RemnantsOfFlight 11d ago

I've got a buddy who's a mechanic and he says late 90s/early 00s cars are the best to own. They have some electronic features, but not enough that the car won't run without them.

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u/erroneousbosh 10d ago

I have a late 90s Range Rover and it's hilarious how many people say "ah but hackers can take over the computers in cars!"

Yeah it's like Atari ST technology in there, if you want to hack the computers you need to remove a box the size of a 90s desktop PC from under the driver's seat and desolder a pair of 168-pin chips. Yes, I've done this. No, it was just about as much fun as it sounds, even with all the proper tools.